Gonder Transportation

Like every other major tourist town in Ethiopia this one has an Ethiopian Airlines office. They take cash only as I found out but no big deal. Was planning to drive to Lalibela from here but after we found out the roads were being worked on and the trip would take longer than we had planned it was time to fly. The office it to the left of the Castles on the same road next to an open parking lot.

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The easiest and quickest way to get here is by domestic flights with Ethiopian Airlines. Gonder has 1 flight a day and can connect you to Addis Ababa and the other northern historical cities of Lalibela, Axum and Bahr Dar. You can fly return or one-way for just a little over $100. Their website does not list domestic flights, but all of their offices speak English. You can ring their Gonder office on the telephone number listed below or ring them in Addis Ababa on: +251-11-551 7000. You can reserve by telephone or at any city office in the country without a credit card! A 90 minute flight can save you up to 2 full days on a bus!

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Gonder airport is about 21 kilometres from town and it takes a good 25 minutes to get there. Taxis will try it on, but you should never pay more than 50-60 Birr. I paid about 40 because I had a local friend with me, but I had to argue with several drivers. If the driver tries to renegotiate the price after the car has started moving – ignore him. They try this, but just have exact change. Get your bags out of the car, then pay him.

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Gonder airport is small and only really sees small Ethiopian Airlines planes land here. They have 2 small overpriced gift shops downstairs near the entrance. They will not haggle and you should get souvenirs before you get here – or after you leave. They have a good Ethiopian restaurant upstairs that overlooks the runway. Do not panic if you do not see the plane. It arrives promptly 5 minutes AFTER the scheduled departure time. They unload passengers and get you on in 10 minutes, easy. Do not arrive too early or you will be very bored.

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To go by bus from Gonder to Axum you must go first to SHIRE and then change bus to Axum. The bus to Shire costs 41b (4,1 USD) and takes about 9 hours to get there. As usual it leaves at 6 from the main bus station.
You have to arrive to the bus station well in advance (5:30h minimum) to be sure that you can take a seat, as they are not numbered. As I was the only stranger there many guys came to me offering "help". For 1-2 dollars they may buy you the ticket, tell you where to wait and reserve you a front seat. A front seat is important, as other seats are usually crowded and less comfortable.
We had a few problems on the way (see pics) but this is normal when travelling around Ethiopia by bus.
In Shire you go down and take a minibus to Aksum (12B) , which is about 2 hours away. You arrive to Aksum at 19:00h

I came to Gonder by bus from Bahir Dar. It is a short trip (to Ethiopian standards), as it takes only 2:30h. The ticket costs 22B (2,2 USD), and there are many daily. The road Bahir Dar-Gonder is asphalted, so not very bumpy. It goes around the lake Tana northwards; when it leaves the lake inwards, there is a part of curves where many passengers get ill and puke, making the trip very "pleasant". The way to act in a case like this is "doing it" in a plastic bag and throwing the bag through the window (!).

Ethiopia is a huge country. So the quickest way to go around is to fly with Ethiopian Airlines. There are domestic flights from Addis Abeba to Gonder. It's fast and cheap.

For travelling by road there are buses between all major towns. To reach smaller towns and villages, you can use minibuses, In the towncentre of Gonder are a lot of minibusses, heading to different villages.

In Addis Abeba you can also arrange several tours. Doing the historical route to the north by minibus, including Gonder, will take about two weeks.

Buying bus tickets in Gondar was an interesting experience. It was not possible to buy tickets in advance, so we showed up at 5 am and being Faranjis allowed us to wait in the bus station. The drivers and conductors showed up at 5.30 am. But even now it was impossible to buy a ticket. Wait until 6.00am!. Exactly at 6.00 am the conductors stepped to the fence that is surrounding the bus station and started selling tickets from there. All the tickets had seat numbers and like a miracle they were window seats. When taking them we discovered that its impossible to squeeze in the seats. I can improve your seats for a small tip! – That’s the trick bribe the conductor and get a better seat!